The Right to Exist

Ralph welcomes Palestinian-American writer, activist, and scientist Susan Abulhawa to discuss the ongoing Palestinian genocide and the evidence that supports a vastly higher death toll in Gaza.

Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian-American writer and political activist. She is the author of Mornings in Jenin—translated into thirty languages—and The Blue Between Sky and Water. Born to refugees of the Six Day War of 1967, she moved to the United States as a teenager, graduated in biomedical science, and established a career in medical science. In July 2001, she founded “Playgrounds for Palestine,” a non-governmental children’s organization dedicated to upholding the Right to Play for Palestinian children.

I consider this, first of all, immoral. It's disrespecting the Palestinian dead while they kill the Palestinians who are still alive with US bombers and artillery shells and other weapons coming from Washington, D.C. And it underestimates the kind of urgency that should be confronting this genocide.

Ralph Nader

This is something that I think generations will study for a very long time to come. The complicity of Western media across the board is no less criminal than the genocide itself.

Susan Abulhawa

This is a complete wiping out of life. A total destruction. And it's completely driven by this unfathomable hate and colonial arrogance and Jewish supremacy and this notion of entitlement. Of being favored by God, of being promised some real estate by a real-estate-agent Lord. I mean, it beggars belief the narratives that we see spoken in mainstream outlets and in the halls of power. Truly, it beggars belief.

Susan Abulhawa

No, I don't believe Israel has a right to exist. It has never had a right to exist. No political entities have a right to exist. People have a right to exist. They have a right to exist in their own homeland with dignity. People have a right to universal dignity. A supremacist ideology—and that's ultimately what Zionism is predicated on, on supremacy and entitlement for a group of people at the detriment of another group of people—that is not a right, and it should never be a right. It should be anathema, in fact.

Susan Abulhawa

News 9/5/25

* The Intercept reports AIPAC has lost another Democratic ally in Congress. Congresswoman Deborah Ross of North Carolina has pledged that she will not accept AIPAC campaign contributions in her 2026 reelection bid. In previous elections, Ross has accepted over $100,000 in AIPAC donations. This comes on the heels of another North Carolina Congresswoman, Valerie Foushee – who received over $800,000 in AIPAC contributions – also renouncing donations from the group. As the Intercept notes, in June, the North Carolina Democratic Party adopted a resolution calling for a “complete arms embargo on all military aid to Israel until it ends its apartheid rule of Palestinians.” Dr. Paul McAllister, a reverend and chair of the Interfaith Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party, is quoted saying “AIPAC uses the muscle of their resources to oust anyone who disagrees with them regarding Israel, the conduct of Israel and the atrocities that may be committed by the government of Israel — so it is good that Deborah Ross is willing to recognize and acknowledge that.”

* In more Israel news, a new aid flotilla bound for Gaza departed from Genoa, Italy last Sunday. Unlike previous flotillas however, this one carries the protection of a surprising group: Italian dockworkers. According to POLITICO EU, “Speaking at a rally on the docks of Genoa, one of Europe's largest ports, a dockworker representing the USB union said…‘Around mid-September, these boats will arrive near the coast of Gaza. If we lose contact with our boats, with our comrades, even for just 20 minutes, we will shut down all of Europe.’” Genoa has expressed unprecedented solidarity with Gaza. A food drive in the city collected “more than 300 tons of humanitarian aid…[and] over 40,000 people, including the city's mayor, Silvia Salis, joined a torchlit march through the streets in support of the [humanitarian flotilla on Saturday].” During the procession, Salis remarked “Every day I am proud to be the mayor of this city, but tonight, if possible, I am even more so.”

* In yet another Israel story, Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an Israeli cybersecurity apparatchik, who was arrested in Augu